Open Educational Resources

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Rating | Views Title Posted Date Contributor Common Core Standards Grade Levels Resource Type

The Forest Problem

CC_BY-NC-SA

Students want to know why they would ever use a sampling method other than a simple random sample. This lesson visually illustrates the effect of using a simple random sample (SRS) vs. a stratified random sample. Students will create a SRS from a population of apple trees and use the mean of the SRS to estimate the mean yield of the trees. Students will then create a stratified random sample from the same population to again estimate the yield of the trees. The use of the stratified random sample is to control for a known source of variation in the yield of the crop, a nearby forest.

8/2/2016 Trey Cox
6.SP.A.1 6.SP.B.4 6.SP.B.5 7.SP.A.1 7.SP.A.2 MP.1 MP.2 MP.3 MP.4 MP.5 MP.6 MP.7 6 7 Activity

Valentine Marbles

CC_BY-NC-SA

For this task, Minitab software was used to generate 100 random samples of size 16 from a population where the probability of obtaining a success in one draw is 33.6% (Bernoulli). Given that multiple samples of the same size have been generated, students should note that there can be quite a bit of variability among the estimates from random samples and that on average, the center of the distribution of such estimates is at the actual population value and most of the estimates themselves tend to cluster around the actual population value. Although formal inference is not covered in Grade 7 standards, students may develop a sense that the results of the 100 simulations tell them what sample proportions would be expected for a sample of size 16 from a population with about successes.

8/2/2016 Trey Cox
7.SP.A.2 MP.1 MP.2 MP.3 MP.4 MP.5 MP.6 7 Activity

Flintstone's Writing Project - Sampling

CC_BY-NC-SA

This writing project was written as a letter from Fred Flintstone to the students asking for their advice on proper sampling techniques that requires their mathematical “expertise”. This clearly defines the target audience for the paper and gives the students an idea of the mathematical background that they should assume of the reader. The plot lines in the project is a little bit goofy, although not imprecise, which helps relax the students and gives them the opportunity to be creative when writing their papers.

8/2/2016 Trey Cox
7.SP.A.1 7.SP.A.2 MP.1 MP.2 MP.3 MP.4 MP.5 MP.6 7 Activity

Sampling Techniques - Jelly Blubbers

CC_BY-NC-SA

This activity introduces the Simple Random Sample (SRS) to students, and shows why this process helps to get an unbiased sample statistic. Relying on our perceptions can often be deceiving. In this exercisestudents are asked to determine the average length of a jellyblubber (a hypothetically recently discovered marine species) using a variety of techniques. The student will learn that a Simple Random Sample (SRS) is the most accurate method of determining this parameter, and that intuition can be deceptive. 

8/2/2016 Trey Cox
6.SP.A.1 6.SP.B.4 6.SP.A.2 7.SP.A.1 MP.1 MP.3 MP.4 MP.5 MP.1 MP.3 MP.4 MP.5 6 7 Activity